Community Guidelines

Last updated: March 5 2008

Big Fat Blog was designed to be a place where people could discuss fat acceptance, equality,
and sizism without the "fat is bad" pretense that has oozed its way into popular culture. To
keep that goal and mission attainable, these Guidelines exist.

You must register to participate in the forums, post
responses to articles, and comment on weblog entries. By registering you agree to abide by
these Community Guidelines.

One thing I'd like to point out is that Big Fat Blog is designed to be a supportive environment.
Disruption of that environment can be detrimental to people coming to this site for support.

Keep in mind that everything is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

General Participation and Registration

You must be 18 years of age to register.
Big Fat Blog is intended for adults.

Your email address must be a real email address.
You can not register with a fake email address. If you are concerned about privacy,
consider getting a free email account. If your profile contains a fake email
address, your right to post will be revoked. (Note that email addresses are never
shown to non-registered users.)

Registering multiple times is not allowed.
All users are limited to one account. Users who are found to have more than one
account will have all but one (the first) terminated.

There are some limitations on what can be in your profile.

Namely, pro-weight loss links, pro-weight loss talk, discriminatory language, profanity, and
hate speak. If you maintain a weight loss weblog or personal site, or are selling
a weight loss product of any kind via the URL in your profile, that URL will be
deleted. Note that if you just have a personal site, or a weblog, you can of course
feature that in your profile.

Exposing personal information, such as an address and phone number, is not
allowed.
Don't post it. If you do, your message will either be censored or deleted for your
protection. Should you choose to post someone else's information, your post will
be deleted and you may be banned from posting again.

Due to the BFB News/Announcements category in the Forums, there's no need to talk about the blog on the blog.
If you have any questions about BFB, these policies, etc. they can be sent to me personally
or discussed in the BFB News/Announcements section of the Forums. Posts about BFB on BFB that are off-topic
will be blitzed.

Interaction

Treat others as you would want to be treated.
The Golden Rule, believe it or not, is quite practical. This is explained and broken
out below, but keep this in mind when posting.

Name-calling, baiting, and trolling are forbidden.Trolls
are not welcome here. Baiting trolls - giving them something to post about - is also
not welcome. And name-calling, naturally, is not allowed. Especially the oh-so-original
ones such as "fatso", which is sooo 1597.

Debates over "fat = unhealthy" are allowed, but may be heavily moderated.
We aren't here to discuss the same arguments ad nauseum. So if you decide
to state that fat people are unhealthy, be prepared to back it up. If you simply post
a message and then leave, your action will be considered trolling - the message(s) will
be deleted and your account may be suspended.

Messages supporting weight loss surgery, weight loss for the sake of weight loss, and
advocating weight loss will be deleted.
No exceptions.

If conversation is heating up, relax.
This is only a website. Take a few minutes away from the keyboard.

Remedies

If someone is found to be trolling, baiting, or the like, actions will be taken as below. If
you happen to see such a comment on BFB, and it's not removed within a day or so (I've got to
sleep sometime), consider contacting me.

The comment will be deleted.
The comment will be stricken from the site, and all traces of it will be wiped from the
face of the earth.

Your account may gain new limitations.
If you post a comment that is deleted, you may lose your ability to post comments. If
you continue to post comments that are deleted, your account may enter "dead" mode -
you can not post comments at all, and your account is permanently revoked.

Should you attempt to register again after being suspended, your ISP or system admin
will be contacted.
Check the Terms of Service for your particular ISP, school, or library and you will notice that items that
are deemed
hateful are generally not allowed. We will contact the appropriate person with all
pertinent information and trust that person to take it from there.

The Appeal Process

Thus far, only one person who has been banned was later allowed to post again (it was an error
on my part.) Mistakes can happen. If you feel that your comment was deleted by mistake, or you
have been banned from posting, you have the right to ask me to reconsider. I can not and will
not guarantee, however, that I'll change my mind. If you post 50 comments in 50 threads about
the hygiene of fat people and then say "I'M S0RRY, LET ME IN>>>", chances are sound that you won't
be posting again.

Whose Community Is This?

If you feel something
needs to be more clearly defined, or have a suggestion or criticism, let me know.
This is considered an evolving document, and while some rules may not change outright, I'm
always open to clarification.